


This Could Be Something

by Anotherlostblogger



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Friendship/Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 03:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18044504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anotherlostblogger/pseuds/Anotherlostblogger
Summary: In the wake of his breakup, Ryan learns how to fall.





	This Could Be Something

Ryan was seated in the back of his best friends' van even though he knew better.

"Why ice-skating again?" he groaned, and Byron frowned at him in the rearview mirror. "Because it's winter," he said. "It's thematic. And girls love that shit."

Ryan hadn't been ice skating since Billy Rogers' birthday party in the second grade. It hadn't been pretty.

"Do they love it when guys make a fool of themselves, falling all over the ice?" Ryan asked, and Roland turned around from his place in the front seat, "Yes."

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

"Fuck you."

It would have continued to devolve from there, but Byron butted in, "Nobody said you had to do anything fancy, remember? Just gotta hold onto the railing and look cool."

Ryan sunk lower in his seat. "I've never looked cool."

"I know," Byron said, pushing down his sunglasses to grin, "Which is why we're coming."

✾✾✾

It all started a few days ago when his good friend Byron had casually--too casually in retrospect--shown him this girl's picture on Instagram.

"She's cute, huh?" he'd asked.

His friends had been doing that to him for the past few months, ever since his long-term relationship had finally fizzled out at the end of summer. Ryan had spent a week or two in respectable post-breakup mourning, and then they were in his face, trying to get him back out there.

It didn't matter how many times he'd told them he wasn't interested in a casual thing, they seemed to think they knew better than him.

It didn’t matter what they thought, Ryan was stronger than that. He's been single before. He could do it again.

He wouldn't have been so susceptible if the holidays weren't coming.

This time, when Byron shoved a picture under his face, he didn't have a chance to let out a bored grunt in response because he was immediately arrested by playful light eyes, all this curly hair and a smile that dazzled him from its place on this adorable face.

"Oh," he said stupidly, and Byron jumped on that like a dog with a bone, "Right?" If Byron wasn't seeing someone right now, Ryan would've assumed he was into her, but knew that look.

But one glance back at her instagram and he was scrolling through-careful not to like anything even if it was Byron's phone.

"Her name's Mary...Marielle?"

"Yeah," Byron gushed, scooting closer to him on the couch. "She's one of Janice’s friends....she’s an actress."

Right, Ryan thought as he clicked on another very cute picture of her, eyes flickering down to her likes count. Definitely out of his league.

"Janice told me she thought you were cute."

Ryan's head popped up and he stared at his friend. "What?"

"Yeah," Byron said, "And....wait, are you blushing?"

"No," Ryan said, though he definitely, definitely was.

He scrubbed a hand over his jaw to make it stop.

"....anyways, she was saying we could set something up-"

"I'm not dating right now," Ryan said instinctively. He could've kicked himself, but Byron didn't look deterred.

"Sure," he said casually. "But she was thinking we could all go do something fun, like ice-skating on Saturday."

"Ice-skating," Ryan echoed, but he wasn't fully listening. He wasn't sure he'd heard much else after knowing that she thought he was cute.

"Yeah," Byron said. "You in?"

And like an idiot, he agreed.

✾✾✾

"I'm going on a date this weekend," Ryan blurted out at work the next day like he couldn't help it.

It didn't matter that he wasn't calling it a date with his buddies. That was bullshit. And Shane was the ultimate bullshit meter.

"That's great," Shane said, and he looked like he actually meant it.

Ryan felt something like relief spark in his chest. "You don't think its...too soon?" he asked timidly.

"What, are you marrying her?" Shane asked blandly.

"I might," Ryan threatened, and Shane laughed, sitting back in his chair.

“Well. That might be a little soon."

Ryan's mouth quirked, "Yeah. Maybe."

"But otherwise....no," Shane told him. "You're young! Go have fun!"

"Okay grandpa," Ryan wheezed.

"I remember when I was your age," Shane said in a faux elderly voice. "All the dames..."

Ryan shook his head and got back to work.

✾✾✾

So it wasn't like...officially a date. It wasn't even two on two.

Along with his roommates, Roland's on-again-off-again Tinder girl was apparently tagging along too, which saved this from just being a double date....but barely.

When they got there, it was clear that the girls had got there first, and were waiting outside the rink.

"Oh god," Ryan said again, and from his place in his front seat Roland turned around and whacked him on the leg, "Stop acting like this is a haunted house."

"Shut up," Ryan said, not caring if he sounded childish. "It might as well be."

By the time they parked, Ryan's palms were sweaty. He wiped them on his jeans, and kept up his mantra from earlier, 'Its not a date, it's not a date, it's not a date...'

That all went out the window as they approached them.

Roland and Byron's girls were there too, but Ryan could only see Marielle, and she was looking right back at him.

Her curly hair was piled up in a big bun atop her head and she was wearing one of those headband-earmuff things that went with her pastel quarter zip which looked good against her tan skin and brought out the blue in her blue-green eyes. 

He suddenly realized he must be staring, but she was staring too.

"Everyone here know how to skate?" Janice asked, and all of their advice went straight out the window as Ryan found himself saying, "Nope!" a little too loud.

Marielle giggled.

Their eyes met again and Ryan's stomach flipped. 

"That's okay," Janice reassured him, and she had that same voice on that Byron did, as she scooted her friend closer to Ryan, "That's why we have the buddy system."

Oh, was that why?

"Oh, in case you didn't know," Byron jumped in, "This is Ryan, Ryan this is Marielle."

"Hi," she said, and he echoed her, feeling stupidly giddy about this whole thing all of a sudden. Ice skating? The best idea in the world.

"Then let's go on in!" Janice said, and they followed her, two by two.

✾✾✾

“I think this might be a mis-skate,” Ryan muttered to himself and Marielle giggled again, it was definitely a boost in the old ego.

It was easy to feel cocky while he was paying for their skates and making jokes...but the moment he'd tied those bad boys onto his two legs, Ryan knew any showing off had come to an abrupt end.

Marielle skated out into the center of the rink, all grace and fluid moves, and then turned to see him, basically crouched, holding onto the railing for dear life.

The attention had been cute, but now he wanted to disappear. 

To his mortification, she laughed, but it was contagious--he laughed too.

"I'm sorry!" she said, and she was back at his side in a moment-fuck she was quick on these things. 

"I abandoned you," she told him apologetically, grabbing him by the arm, he grabbed her back, as respectfully as he could, and then they were skating....very, very slowly.

He would have described it like a retired couple skating together, but the elderly couple in the rink had already past them.

"How long have you known how to skate?" 

"I took lessons since I was a kid," she told him, "I used to want to be a figure skater."

"Oh yeah?" Ryan asked, feeling the heaviness of each step on ice, and trying to learn how to concetrate on walking and talking at the same time. "You have a nice figure."

Marielle burst out laughing at the same time Ryan's face just about burst into flames. 

"No, no that's not what I meant," he said in horror, but she kept laughing, until he, against his will, laughed with her. "I meant...I meant you seem to be a good skater."

Marielle's eyes danced as she leaned in closer, "I'm sure I do," she teased as yet another older gentleman skated past them and Ryan felt that remark land like an arrow in his heart.

"Ooof," he said, "You wound me."

"I try," she said, grinning.

"Fine, okay, why don't we try to go a little faster?"

"You think you're ready for that?"

"Yeah," Ryan lied. "Lets do it."

She tugged him and he felt his other hand slide away from the wall, "Oh, wait, oh, fuck--" he grabbed her, and accidentally pulled, and then they were both falling on their asses with twin thuds.

Ryan could only sit there in his shock but Marielle was laughing again.  
  
"God, I'm such an idiot," he said, face burning with the cold and embarrassment, but she was already pulling herself to her feet.

"Hey!" she said, giving him a nudge as he struggled to get back up on two legs. "You learned something." 

"Oh yeah?" Ryan asked dryly, and she reached for him, so he took the L and her hand, "What's that?"

"How to fall," she said, and when she pulled him, their faces were very very close together for a split second, before he was reaching for the wall again.

"-And that's important?" he asked, wincing at his sore behind.

"It's very important," she insisted, taking his arm again. "If you fall on your front, you could hurt your teeth or your face....but you're more likely to catch yourself on your hands, which can sprain or get really cut up on the ice...You should always know how to fall."

"So what you're saying is...I should land on my booty?"

Marielle winked at him, "That's what I'm saying."

Ryan couldn't help but smile. "Maybe I'll learn something from you after all."

✾✾✾

They exchanged numbers before they left. 

He wasn't going to run into things, no matter how smug Byron or Roland looked. They were going to hang out. No strings attached. That's all. 

He definitely didn't get butterflies when she texted him that night, no sir.

    8:05pm: Is there a guide to watching Unsolved? 

                        8:07pm: If you need a guide to watch something, I don't know what to tell you...

    8:09pm: Well! Someone's Mr. Snarky.

                       8:10pm: Kidding, kidding. You want me to send you our greatest hits? 

    8:12pm: That could be fun. But where would I start if I wanted to see all of it?

                      8:15pm: There's...kind of a lot. Areyousureaboutthat.gif

     8:17pm: Bring it on. 😎

✾✾✾

"How was your date?" Shane asked him on Monday, and Ryan rolled his office chair over to him with a stupid grin on his face, "Good. Really good, but my ass is sore."

Shane takes that in stride.

"You get laid?" Shane asks point-blankly and Ryan scoffs. "What? No."

"Oh, excuse me," Shane says, "I forgot about your gentle sensibilities."

Ryan kicks one absurdly long leg, "We went ice-skating, man, not to a sex dungeon." 

Shane's mouth quirked, "The happiest place on earth," he said, and Ryan wheezed.

"Oh!" Ryan said suddenly, loud enough to startle his giant friend. "That's a good idea, thank you." 

He disappeared back behind his computer and Shane shook his head, "Have fun! Use protection!"

✾✾✾

Ryan and Marielle went to Disneyland for the first time together that Friday. Luckily, she had a pass too and was another Disney-head. They both wore mouse ears. 

She was wearing a cute screen tee and shorts and he was in a shirt that he thought was flattering enough-judging by her looks at his arms, it passed the test.

She didn't give him time to question it, from the moment they hugged hello she took his hand, and then they were off.

They hit some of the best spots, Indiana Jones at around 10am when the line isn't crazy, and she didn't even judge him for wanting to try the new Dole Whip before noon. 

 Even though he must've ridden The Jungle Cruise a thousand times, she loved it, so they rode it together, and laughed at the same stupid animal jokes.

When they went on Space Mountain, she squeezed his hand the whole time.

When they rode the Matterhorn bobsleds ride, Marielle ended up tucked up against his chest, close enough for him to smell her vanilla bodyspray, and feel how she felt slotting like a puzzle piece into him.

It was maybe one of the best days of his life.

✾✾✾

When he took her home, they hesitated to say goodnight. She kept sending him looks, and he was torn between acting and acting too soon. 

Before he could worry about it any further, she was unbuckling herself to get out, and then leaning back over the console and kissing him goodnight. 

✾✾✾

Byron and Roland were pretty much insufferable when he got back.

They’d seen her Instagram story. 

“You guys look pretty cozy,” Roland had teased him, shoving a selfie they’d taken in his face.

”We had a good time, sue me,” Ryan said, breaking into a water bottle.

”Its cuffing season,” Byron told him, and Ryan ignored them, going up to his room.

Why did everything always sound kinky with them?

✾✾✾

The next time they 'hung out', it was at her apartment. She was going to cook for them, and Ryan put effort into his hair-it was definitely a different cut and look than he usually went for, but the guy at the shop had said it was cool so...hopefully she wasn't going to send him packing.

"Hi," she said the moment she opened the door, looking him over appreciatively. "You look good," she said, and he tried not to oggle her too much in her long-sleeved black dress.

"So do you," he said, and she smiled. 

"I like your hair," she said, and she touched it, and he thought that maybe he would always do his hair like this for the rest of his life. "Thank you."

"So...before you think I'm like...a crazy chef or anything...I just want to preface this by saying...I tried," she says, leading him backwards into the kitchen and he laughs. "You can't possibly be worse than me."

"We'll see."

She made pasta and salad and bread and it's all really good so she has no reason to worry...even if the sauce might be from a can and the bread is a little extra crunchy on the edges. It’s still better than anything he could do. 

By the time they're done, she offers to make popcorn and he just about offers her his heart.

"I was thinking..." she said, drawing out the word as they went into the living room, "We could watch something."

"Oh yeah?" he asked. She looked mischevious, and it made his heart race a little. "Like what?"

She turned on her Apple TV, and Ryan saw his face looking right back at him.

"Oh, no," Ryan said, and he immediately felt his face heat.

Marielle laughed in delight.  "Oh no?!" she asked him, grabbing his arm, and making him look, "You told me about this!"

"I know," he said, "But I don't like watching myself."

Marielle made a sympathetic sound and he thought that maybe he’d gotten out of it. As an actress maybe she could understand.

"Too bad," she said, surprising him as she scooted up against him on her couch. "I'm on supernatural season 3, and I need to get caught up."

Ryan laughed. "Oh, is that what we're doing?"

"Yes!" she told him, pressing play and leaning back in triumph. "That's what we're doing."

 Somehow he knew she was going to win this one....but, you know, maybe he didn't mind. 

As they watched one episode and the next, Ryan allowed his arm to go over her shoulders, the shared popcorn bucket in her lap.

It was scary to start something new, but sometimes you had to learn how to fall. 


End file.
